1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA
NCAA Tournament	1972
Tournament dates	March 11 – 25, 1972
National Championship	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena; Los Angeles, California
NCAA Champions	UCLA
Helms National Champions	UCLA
Other champions	Maryland (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Naismith, Wooden)	Bill Walton, UCLA (Naismith)
Player of the Year; (Helms)	Bill Walton, UCLA
NCAA Division I basketball seasons
«1970–71	1972–73»

The 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1971, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1972 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 25, 1972, at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins won their eighth NCAA national championship with an 81–76 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.

Season headlines[]

UCLA went undefeated (30–0) and won its sixth NCAA championship in a row, eighth overall, and eighth in nine seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its sixth of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.
The national championship game was played on Saturday for the last time. It moved to Monday night in 1973.

Season outlook[]

Pre-season polls[]

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.^[3]^[4]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	UCLA
2	North Carolina
3	USC
4	Marquette
5	Ohio State
6	Maryland
7	Houston
8	Long Beach State
9	Louisville
10	Kentucky
11	Jacksonville
12	South Carolina
13	Michigan
14	Kansas
15	Penn
16	New Mexico
17	St. John's
18	Villanova
19	BYU
20	Oklahoma

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	UCLA
2	Marquette
3	USC
4	North Carolina
5	Ohio State
6	Houston
7	Maryland
8	Louisville
9	Long Beach State
10	Kentucky
11	Jacksonville
12	New Mexico State
13	South Carolina
14	BYU
15	St. John's
16	Kansas
17	Villanova
18	Michigan
19	Harvard
20	Pacific

Conference membership changes[]

School	Former Conference	New Conference
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	Gulf States Conference	Southland Conference
NYU Violets	University Division independent	No basketball program
Pacific Tigers	West Coast Athletic Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Seattle Redhawks	University Division independent	West Coast Athletic Conference
South Carolina Gamecocks	Atlantic Coast Conference	University Division independent
Southwest Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns	Gulf States Conference	Southland Conference

Regular season[]

Conference winners and tournaments[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner^[5]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	North Carolina	Barry Parkhill, Virginia^[6]	1972 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	North Carolina
Big Eight Conference	Kansas State	Isaac "Bud" Stallworth, Kansas^[7]	No Tournament
Big Sky Conference	Weber State	None selected	No Tournament
Big Ten Conference	Minnesota	None selected	No Tournament
Ivy League	Penn	None selected	No Tournament
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	Tom Kozelko, Toledo^[8]	No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference	Temple (East); Rider (West)		No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference	Louisville & Memphis State	Larry Finch, Memphis State	No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, & Western Kentucky	Les Taylor, Murray State	No Tournament
Pacific 8 Conference	UCLA	None selected	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	Long Beach State	Ed Ratleff, Long Beach State	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Kentucky & Tennessee	Mike Edwards, Tennessee, & Tom Parker, Kentucky^[9]	No Tournament
Southern Conference	Davidson	Russ Hunt, Furman^[10]	1972 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Greenville Memorial Auditorium (Greenville, South Carolina) (Semifinals and Finals)	East Carolina^[11]
Southland Conference	Louisiana Tech	Dwight "Bo" Lamar, Southwest Louisiana^[12]	No Tournament
Southwest Conference	SMU & Texas	Larry Robinson, Texas	No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference	San Francisco	Mike Stewart, Santa Clara	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	BYU	None selected	No Tournament
Yankee Conference	Rhode Island	None selected	No Tournament

Informal championships[]

Conference	Regular Season Winner	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Philadelphia Big 5	Penn & Temple	None selected	No Tournament

Statistical leaders[]

Post-Season Tournaments[]

NCAA Tournament[]

Final Four[]

National Semifinals			National Finals

E	North Carolina	75

ME	Florida State	79
			ME	Florida State	76

			W	UCLA	81
MW	Louisville	77

MW	UCLA	96

Third Place – North Carolina 105, Louisville 91

National Invitation Tournament[]

Semifinals & Finals[]

Semifinals			Finals

	Jacksonville	77

	Maryland	91
				Maryland	100

				Niagara	69
	St. John's	67

	Niagara	69

Third Place – Jacksonville 83, St. John's 80

Awards[]

Consensus All-American teams[]

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Henry Bibby	G	Senior	UCLA
Jim Chones	C	Junior	Marquette
Dwight Lamar	G	Junior	Southwestern Louisiana
Bob McAdoo	F	Junior	North Carolina
Ed Ratleff	F	Junior	Long Beach State
Tom Riker	F/C	Senior	South Carolina
Bill Walton	C	Sophomore	UCLA

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Rich Fuqua	G	Junior	Oral Roberts
Barry Parkhill	G	Junior	Virginia
Jim Price	G	Senior	Louisville
Bud Stallworth	F	Senior	Kansas
Henry Wilmore	G/F	Junior	Michigan

Major player of the year awards[]

Naismith Award: Bill Walton, UCLA
Helms Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
Associated Press Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
UPI Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA
Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Bill Walton, UCLA
Adolph Rupp Trophy: Bill Walton, UCLA
Sporting News Player of the Year: Bill Walton, UCLA

Major coach of the year awards[]

Associated Press Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
Henry Iba Award (USBWA): John Wooden, UCLA
NABC Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
UPI Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA
Sporting News Coach of the Year: John Wooden, UCLA

Other major awards[]

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): , Oklahoma
Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Corky Calhoun, Penn, & Chris Ford, Villanova
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Richie Garner, Manhattan, & Tom Sullivan, Fordham

Coaching changes[]

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	New Coach	Reason
Georgetown		John Thompson	McGee was fired at the end of the season after the 1971–72 Georgetown team finished with a record of 3–23.
Hardin–Simmons
Kentucky	Adolph Rupp	Joe B. Hall	Rupp retired as the NCAA all-time leader in victories. He was replaced by lead assistant Hall.
Marshall	Carl Tacy	Bob Daniels	Tacy left after the season to become the head coach at Wake Forest.
Wake Forest	Jack McCloskey	Carl Tacy	McCloskey left after the season to become the head coach for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.

References[]

^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

[preseason-1] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[2] "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[ESPN-3] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[4] "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

[5] "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.

[6] 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14

[7] 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04

[8] 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14

[9] 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06

[10] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[11] 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09

[12] 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07

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